Girl Meets Canada: Ode to the Awesomeness that is Jackie

The ongoing story of a girl and her van on an epic journey across Canada.

Day 33 (Fri, June 11th)

I have a very vague recollection of being in Moose Jaw 12 years ago, when I did my first cross country road trip. It was September, and I remember it was raining. I came into town in the evening, and was trying to find a funky place to eat. But in the rain and the dark all I could find was this Chinese-Canadian cuisine diner that was full of teenagers who sat and laughed at me and my near bald head while I ate my sandwich. (Or so I thought. In reality they probably didn’t even notice I was there. But I was young and self-conscious. And pretty sure that I smelled.)

After dinner I found the YMCA and asked at the front desk if I could use their shower. They talked amongst themselves for a while before finally deciding I could use the change room facilities for $3. I think I left town before my hair was dry. And that’s saying a lot, considering my hair was only a 1/4 inch long at the time.

This time around I had a very different experience. Although, it also involved the YMCA.

I went to the Y on Friday morning, thinking I’d get a workout (and yes, a shower), and then leave town pretty quick. But my plans were diverted by Jackie.

See, I have a Victoria membership, so when I use other YMCA facilities I need to announce myself and they check out my card and it’s this whole big rigmarole. So I’m at the counter, half asleep (it is only 7:30 am, after all), and declare myself as an out-of-towner. Before I know it, front desk vixen Jackie has pounced on me like a hungry lioness on a half-witted gazelle. She’s asking about my trip. She’s telling me about her travels. She’s offering up her poor unsuspecting mother’s home in Southern Ontario. By the time I’m stumbling up the stairs to the change room I have an offer to show me around town later and a place to sleep that night.

In all seriousness, Jackie, you are on my list of the top 10 nicest people ever.

She smuggled me into the Temple Gardens Mineral Spa, where we got to hang out in a gorgeous pool, and also managed to swing some free passes to the tunnel tours. Have you heard about these? Moose Jaw has an elaborate system of underground tunnels that were used for a variety of nefarious activities over the decades. They are now total tourist traps, and have two theatrical tours that most suckers have to pay to see. But not me! One shows how the tunnels were used to work and hide the unwanted Chinese population of the early 1900s. The other explores Al Capone’s connection with Moose Jaw and his bootlegging operations. Both are worth the 50 minutes (and I think $14 for you lay people).

Jackie and her lovely fiancé Travis also took me out for dinner, introduced me to their friends, let me cuddle their ridiculously cute new kittens, Moosh and Boo, put me up for the night, and cooked me a delicious omelette. Seriously the nicest. People. Ever.

And, as if Moose Jaw doesn’t have enough going for it, I also found two very cool quilting shops that I could spend all day in. I should mention that when I did a small road trip into California last November I did bring my sewing machine in the hopes that I would finish this silly quilt I’d been working on. I did finish it, and swore that it was the last time I’d travel with a blasted sewing machine. They’re just so big and clunky and annoying, and it’s hard to find places to set them up. So this trip the sewing machine stayed home and I’ve been satiating my crafting needs by knitting.

But that didn’t stop me from buying quilting squares and a pattern in Moose Jaw. I mean, come on! What the heck am I going do do with this stuff?

But it’s just so pretty…

Anywho, Moose Jaw has definitely made it onto my list of potential future temporary homes.

Photo Credits

All photos by Sarah Gignac

#2 Highway South into Moose Jaw

Jackie & Moosh

This article was first published on Raggedy Threads in June 2010.